Liver Cirrhosis Secondary to Alcoholism - Essay Example

'Liver Cirrhosis Secondary to Alcoholism' is a good example of a paper on the gastrointestinal system. 
Chief complain

The client complains of pain on the upper right quadrant of the abdomen which subsides when he bents down. The pain becomes worse when he engages in activities. He also complains of nausea and vomiting that occurs when he takes a little amount of alcohol. He has never experienced this complaint before.

History of present illness

The patient started experiencing pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen four weeks ago. The pain lasts for ten to fifteen minutes and then it subsides when the patient bends down. Pain becomes worse when the patient takes a little amount of alcohol and its accompanied by vomiting. Currently, the patient uses analgesics to relieve the pain but it only works for a short period.

Past medical and surgical history

The patient was diagnosed with malaria some two years ago and he was admitted at St. Patrick's hospital in New York City. He was treated and discharged after five days. He has never donated or received any blood before. He does not have allergies for any drug or food. The client has never undergone any surgical operation.

Family and social history

The client comes from a family of six siblings consisting of three men and three women. Both his parents are alive. No history of any chronic illness in the family.  Both of his parents are alcoholics. He is married and has two children. The client smokes cigarettes and drinks alcohol. In a day, he smokes one packet of cigarettes and six bottles of beer.

Patient’s stage of change

The patient is in the preparation stage of change. After contemplating for many weeks by analyzing the effects of alcohol and cigarettes to his health, the client has decided to embrace change in lifestyle. He has started to decrease the number of cigarettes smoked in a day from one packet to half a packet for the last month. The amount of alcohol that he takes has also reduced from six bottles to three bottles in a day for the last month. He hopes to continue decreasing the number of cigarettes smoked and alcohol consumed in a day until he ceases using the two products.

Recommendations for motivation

To substitute the number of tobacco cigarettes forgone in a day the client can start taking tobacco-free cigarettes like electronic cigarettes (E-cigarette).  The e-cigarette is less harmful to patients and can, in the long run, lead to cessation of smoking. The alcohol forgone in a day can be substituted with other non-alcoholic drinks present in the market such as the Coca-Cola products. Other products with a little alcoholic percentage such as wine can also be used to substitute the beer; this, in the long run, will lead to a cultivated culture of taking nonalcoholic drinks.

DRI table

This table contains the recommended dietary allowance (RDA), adequate intake (AI), tolerable upper intake level (UL) and estimated average requirements for nutrients.
The client is 35 years old will use the DRI figures of life stage group 31-50 years.